"Bajirao Mastani" released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu in over 3,050 screens across the country on 18 December. Its promos had created a lot of curiosity among film-goers. But the movie faced a big threat in the form of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol's "Dilwale", which hit the screens on the same day as its release.

Having a decent advance booking, "Bajirao Mastani" debuted with good occupancy everywhere on Friday. It collected Rs 12.80 crore nett at the Indian box office on the first day. Taran Adarsh tweeted: "#BajiraoMastani Fri â‚¹ 12.80 cr [3,050 screens]. India biz. Film growing rapidly with strong word of mouth and glowing reviews. (sic)"

"Bajirao Mastani" received positive response from the audience, and the word of mouth took its business upwards on Saturday. Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed historical romance dram has collected Rs 15.52 crore nett at the Indian box office on its second day.

The Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra-starrer has shown further growth in its business in morning and matinee shows on Sunday. But as per early trends, the movie will not be able to cross the mark of Rs 50 crore nett in the domestic market in its opening weekend.

"Bajirao Mastani", which has been made with a whopping budget of Rs 120 crore, is one of the costliest Bollywood movies of 2015. Its domestic distribution rights have been sold for record prices. The film needs to show a bigger jump in its collection, if it has to recover the distributors' investments.